NYT article about obesity researcher Jeffrey Friedman. He disputes the existence of a U.S. "obesity epidemic", seeming to claim that weight is more or less a matter of genetic predestination. But some of his data seems to me to undermine his position. He says that in the "midgrange" of population, the average weight is up 6-7 pounds in the last 10 years. That strikes me as a pretty darn significant increase! The number of clinically obese people is up 30% in a decade--pretty big increase, if you ask me.
There is another big problem I have with this, and many similar articles:
He says "People can exert a level of control over their weight within a 10-, perhaps a 15-pound range," Dr. Friedman said. But expecting an obese person to decide to simply eat less and exercise more to get below the obesity range, below the overweight range? It virtually never happens, he said. Any weight that is lost almost invariably comes right back.
First of all, 10-15 is not an insignificant amount. But setting that quibble aside, I agree that willpower is rarely a long-term solution. And that yo-yo dieting is probably worse than remaining heavy full-time. But what about exercise?
The preceding quote is the only time the word appears in the article. I believe exercise has got to be the key in weight-control. Instead of emphasizing deprivation, exercise emphasizes something that, once you become hooked on it, is a huge postive. I'm not sure that I have ever known someone who exercised vigorously, 30 minutes, 4 times a week, year-in, year-out, and had a signficant weight problem (I'm sure there are some people who fit this profile, but I haven't met any of them).
Finally, he addresses portion size, but doesn't comment on dietary quality. Maybe he believes that calories are calories, doesn't matter about the mix of protein, carb, fat and sugar. But I think decline in dietary quality has got to be a factor, too. I'm no vegan, but 150 calories worth of broccoli is a heck of a lot more filling than 150 calories worth of ice cream.
10:07:45 PM 
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